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Reading Endorsement - Competency 4/5
Foundations and Applications of Differentiated Instruction
In this course, teachers will have a broad knowledge of students from different profiles in order to understand and apply research-based instructional practices by differentiating process, product, and context. Teachers will engage in the systematic problem solving process: use data to accurately identify problems, analyze those problems, design and implement interventions, and intensify instruction based on individual student needs.
The article's main purpose is to define differentiated instructions, what it means for teachers and more importantly, how to successfully implement these strategies in the classroom. This article discusses three steps to developing your own differentiated instructions that can be adjusted to your curriculum. Step one is getting to know your students by identifying their levels, learning styles and interests. The second step is identifying areas of your curriculum that could be adapted to differentiated instruction. The key in this step is to choose one or two broad concepts that lend themselves to being taught at different degrees of complexity. This second step is also where the teacher does her/his planning of activities, tasks and assessments that address the selected concept. The third step is to examine your role as teacher in the differentiated classroom. In this final step, the teacher brainstorms ways to vary his/her instructional delivery methods. Target auditory, visual and kinesthetic learners in your approach. This article really addresses the "why" it is important to differentiate instructions. Because no two students enter a classroom alike, we must prescribe our instructions as much as possible. Regardless of students individual differences, they are still expected to master the same concepts. As teachers we can do much to help our struggling students. Teachers can structure learning environments that address the differences in their students. According to the article, students learn best when they make connections between curriculum and their diverse interests and experiences. We cannot reach our struggling students if we continue to teach to the middle.
ReplyDeleteDifferentiating Instruction:Meeting Students Where They Are
Published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
By:Jennipher Willoughby
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ReplyDeleteThis article is about strategies for DI. It provides a clear definition for DI which means teachers enrich the learning process providing differentiated instruction based on content, product or/and material matching it with the student’s unique abilities to learn. An example of how to implement each one of them is presented as well. The article also highlighted the importance for the teacher to know their students in order to differentiate. Conducting diagnostic assessments that provide evidence about the students' readiness, interest inventories and surveying their learning style is the most effective way to collect data need it to prepare the student’s profile. This profile will be a necessary tool when is time to make the decisions of when to differentiate if it will be in the content, product or in the process to meet the student’s needs and/or interests.
ReplyDeleteThe article also presents eight strategies to differentiate with the correspondent guidelines to implement them in the classroom. Is highly recommended to select any of these strategies based on the needs of the students having in mind the curriculum taught. The strategies are:
• Tiered assignments and products
• Compacting
• Independent study
• Interest Centers or Interest groups
• Flexible grouping
• Multiple levels of questions
• Learning Contracts
• Choice Boards
This information is very relevant in the elementary school that I’m working as a reading coach. During the FCAT crunch time we are providing the students with skill-based instruction based on the interim data and FAIR data but even though we are using that data is not enough to meet our students’ interests. We are ”differentiating” based only in what they don’t know but we are missing the ”how they can get it”, which is a simple way to say to know their interests. What I’m planning to do is to share the information in this article with my teachers to come up with a plan to also provide well -planned activities to combine the data with their students’ learning styles and particular interests in order to provide differentiated instruction more effectively.
I will use this information as a guidance to plan with my teachers the strategies for DI to complement and prepare the weekly reading lessons.
Strategies for Differentiating Instruction by The Access Center Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8. USDOE, Office of Special Ed. Programs
1. The main point of this article is focus on how to use and implement differentiation instruction in science in a science class. It also discuss how to incorporate different instructional strategies based on the assed need of the students.
ReplyDelete2. Information from the article that you utilize in your classroom
• The science instructions can be differentiated to allow students to explore topics of interest, expand their research skills, and receive instruction on discrete science and inquiry skills.
5. The information that was provided in this article, that can assist me with my struggling readers are:
• student’s readiness(flexible grouping, choice boards, and learning contracts)
In this article different authors express what differentiated instruction is, how to apply it and its benefits to students. All of them agree that DI brings good results for both students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteThe article brought to my attention how to prepare my lesson plan taking into account essential ideas and skills of the content area, eliminating ancillary tasks and activities, using different learning styles, and clarifying the most important key concepts.
For example according to my curriculum I have to adjust the content for students who can’t deal with to much information or extensive quizzes. I have to address the process according to how my students are learning, and finally the product (how students demonstrate how much they truly know the skill). I can’t judge every one in the same way, so in many cases to obtain the product is hard and complicated. Students have to know that teachers have high expectations.
Differentiated Learning
Tracy A. Huebner
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb10/vol67/num05/Differentiated-Learning.aspx
February 2010 | Volume 67 | Number 5
Meeting Students Where They Are Pages 79-81
The main point of the article is the need for DI in the classroom but the challenges that the teachers face implementing it. The biggest challenge faced by teachers is a lack of proper training and support from administration. The author acknowledges that teachers are overloaded with work but if trained properly and taught to plan to challenge the brightest student scaling down to meet the need of all the students in the class there would be more learning occurring in the classroom. I implement DI in my classroom. I realize that the small groups of struggling reader all learn in different ways. I expose them to short educational videos, stories related to topics, pictures on topic as well as discussions. The article mentioned the importance of planning. I am week in this area when it comes to DI. After reading this article it was clear to me that without proper training implementing DI effectively in my classroom will not be as effective as I would like.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Some Voice Doubts, Advocates Say Differentiated Instruction Can Raise the Bar for All Learners
BY: Mary Anne Hess
www.weac.org/
Standards-Based teaching and Differentiated learning can be a compatible approach in today’s classroom. Research states that standards-based teaching has become a prescribed set of academic standards that instructs a pacing guide running against a clock to cover the dichotomy between standards based and teaching and differentiate. We must ask questions about how standards influence the quality of teaching and learning. If we elect to teach a standard-based curriculum, differentiation simply suggest ways in which we can make the curriculum work best for our varied learners. I really feel like I am running a race with time trying to teach everything that is need be before testing , with the low leveled learns or the students with a learning disability.
ReplyDeleteCarol Ann Tomlinson, Education Leadership, Vol. 58.1, September 2000
The article I selected is “Research on Accuracy Levels and Accelerated Reading Growth” from What Really Matters in Response to Intervention by Richard L. Allington.
ReplyDelete1. The article states that students have 3 levels of reading, independent reading, instructional reading, and frustration reading. A student’s independent level is at the student’s primary grade level and has no ore than one “new “ word in 200 running words. The instructional level should have no more than one “new” word in 50 or 60 running words. His frustration-level text was one where the student struggled with words, ideas, and fluency. The “new” word refers to words that present the reader with potential word recognition difficulties.
The author indicates that high levels of reading accuracy produce the best reading growth. High-success reading activities produce more growth than reading lessons using harder texts. High success during instruction is crucial to the learning rate of low achieving students. Struggling readers experienced classroom lessons where the reading activities were high-success activities produced far greater gains than classrooms where struggling readers read harder texts. He sited a study that compared tutoring in grade-level texts with tutoring using reading-level texts. The 5th grade struggling readers who used the grade-level texts benefited little from the tutoring when compared to the gains made by the struggling readers tutored using texts matched to their reading levels. The students using on grade level texts did make gains; however, it was implementing the oral recitation lesson format with a story map introduction. Each student read and reread the classroom text 15 to 20 times each week.
2. This information may be utilized during differentiated instruction. As teachers, we must correctly identify each students reading level and match this level with the passages and books we ask the students to use during small group instruction. This will accelerate the students reading growth and therefore close the achievement gap. It is not enough to scaffold the instruction and use on grade level text. There is a place for this, but it is neither during differentiated instruction nor intervention.
3. I will use this with my struggling readers during our On Target intervention where students not only use word sorts but take this information to text and are asked to identify the newly learned skill in a passage. I will make sure that the passages are to each reading level. Also, fluency activities appear to be of little worth unless we use the student’s independent reading level. I will stop doing whole group fluency activities and better spend that time teaching more vocabulary strategies.
Christine Rodriguez
In the article Pre-assessment in the Differentiated Classroom, Catherine M. Brighton PhD discusses the concept of pre-assessment and its use as a powerful tool for teachers. Pre-assessment can be used for planning and to ensure that instructional time is employed effectively in the differentiated classroom, so that classroom resources are utilized effectively according the intended learning goals and purposes. Determining student mastery and learning gaps, motivating students to be more involved in and attentive to instruction, identifying students who have background knowledge in order to form expert groups, and guiding instruction to challenge students appropriately, are some of the advantages of using pre-assessment In addition to the intended purpose, the article emphasizes the importance of considering the format and methodology the instructor should use. "In order to efficiently use these tools, a teacher must be focused and clear about the intensions, learning outcomes including the necessary knowledge, skills, and understanding."
ReplyDeleteDifferentiationCentral.com - Institutes on Academic Diversity Copyright © 2009
In this article Using Learning Profile to Differentiate Content, Process, and Product, How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classroom P. (64) speaks of using the learning profiles for lesson planning. Ms. Lide tape records materials for her auditory learners and role plays AFTER READING AN ASSIGNMENT ASKING FOR VOLUNTEERS. "Kinesthetic learners like this need a more physical approach to comprehension....she uses graphic organizers to show how part of the study fits the big picture meaning...as well as overheads and flip chart."
ReplyDeleteMr. Larsen uses Menus for Success some of the menu looks like this:1) To explore a math concept he uses pictures and words to create directions 2) PROVIDE MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF THE PROBLEMS TO PRACTICE 3) Investigating how the kind of math problems can be used in real life dilemmas.4)He also asks students to use manipulatives and words to demonstrate how the problem type works. They get to decide whether to work alone or with a peer. They talk with him to make wise decisions from the Menu of Success “to support healthy living the same way a restaurant menu supports healthy living.” Finally Ms.Michaels uses more than one open ended assessment. She combines tests and portfolios of student work. This helps students who may want to show how much they know as well as give students who find test taking “uninspiring” She also allows product assignments to be expressed in at least three different ways:1) an exhibit with a narrative 2) or essay, or dialogue or through 3) illustrated and annotated time lines. Finally she varies research material to include artifacts, visuals, print materials, interviews and technology. She varies working alone and with groups. The point of the article was to show the many choices that exist to differentiate and try to meet the learners needs where they are. The article is useful to model ways we can use differentiated instruction with our own particular subject matter. These ides will help the struggling reader to be able to choose a learning project to begin LEARNING!